Capsule sealing and marking apparatus



March 20, 1956 Filed June 25, 1953 F. J. ROLL 2,738,827

CAPSULE SEALING AND MARKING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 20, 1956 F,ROLL 2,738,827

CAPSULE SEALING AND MARKING APPARATUS Filed June 23, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet2 m m m El k FIG. N 2

IN VEN TOR. FEEDER/CK J. ROLL United States Patent M 2,738,827 CAPSULESEALING AND MARKING APPARATUS Frederick J. Roll, Huntington Station, N.Y., assignor of fifty per cent to Edward R. Dayton, Huntington Station,

, Application June 23, 1953, Serial No. 363,580

16 Claims. (Cl. 154-42) This invention is directed to a novel method ofand means for sealing and or marking soluble capsules, which may be madeof gelatin or other suitable material, and used for taking medicine anddrugs.

Many drugs and medicines are sold in the form of individual dosescontained in individual gelatin capsules. When the medicines are taken,the capsule is swallowed and dissolves due to theheat and moisture ofthe body. There capsules are cylindrical in shape and are composed oftwo sections, each having a rounded end which fit into one another, inoverlapping relation. Due to the fact that the capsules are takeninternally, the two sections cannot be sealed with metal or any foreignmaterial. The marking is similarly complicated since there is not. muchspace and due to the nature of the capsule, it is difiicult to makeeffective markings for identification and information use. Therefore,thecapsules are generally sold unsealed and there is no assurance thatthe manufactured product has not been tampered with with respect toeither quantity or quality or possibly exposed to some impurity. Inother words, medicines and drugs sold in these capsules are one of thefew products sold and marketed without a sealed container and withoutthe manufacturers marking such as trademark or identification marks.This is a very bad situation to exist especially in the medical. fieldwhere people are forced to rely on the reputation of. the manufacturerand pharmacist.

The present invention consists in a novel method of and means forsealing and or marking soluble capsules by heat and pressure. a pair ofheated elements, as jaws, one or both of which have a marking die. Thejaws exert just enough pressure andare heated to the optimum temperatureso that they will engage the capsule on the larger and smalleroverlapped portions of the capsule so that the two portions will beeffectively crimped and heat sealed together. The operation of the jawsprovides an indented band portion encircling the capsule. Suitableinformation maybe impressed within this band portion by means ofsuitable marking dies inserted within the jaws. The same type jaws maybe used separately or at the same time to mark another part of thecapsule. Automatic capsule feeding and ejecting means are also providedand all of the various operations are synchronized with. a set of camsmounted on a common drive shaft. s

More particularly, the capsules are fed from a hopper or other feedingdevice to an indexing wheel which feeds them one at a time to thecrimping position. A stopping plate holds the capsule in position untilthe jaws engage, and when the jaws are retracted, the capsule is ejectedby an air blast. The operation of the indexing wheel, the stop plate andthe jaws have a definite time sequence of operation which is determinedby a plurality of synchronizing cams.

Accordingly, one object of the invention .is to provide a novel methodof and means for sealing and marking soluble capsules.

The invention generally comprises Another object of the presentinvention is to provide Another object of the. present invention is. toprovide a novel method of and means for marking soluble capsules.

Another object of thepresent invention is to provide new and improvedcapsule sealing and marking apparatus including means, for automaticallyfeeding and. ejecting the capsules.

Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improvedautomatic capsule sealing and marking apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improvedcapsule. sealing and marking apparatus comprising a pair of heatedelements, one or both' having; marking .dies and associated capsulefeeding and ejecting means.

An apparatus which is suitable for carrying out my method of sealingand, or marking soluble capsules is represented in the accompanyingdrawings:

Figures 1A, 1B andlC show capsules before and after sealing and marking,and the jaws which make the seal.

Figure 1A shows a typical capsule comprising two overlapped portions aand b.

Figure 1B shows the jaws in symbolic form, and,

Figure 1C shows the capsule after it has been crimped, sealed and markedby the jaws.

Figure 2shows a front view of the apparatus.

Figure 3 shows a top view of the apparatus.

Figure 4 shows a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 2. jI

4A is a detail section on an enlarged scale showing a marking die.

Figure 5 is a cam sequence diagram.

Referring to Figures 2, 3 and 4, there are shown several views of theapparatus for carrying out my method. It is mounted on a main framemember 30 which supports the various elements. The sealing jaws areshown at 10 and 10'. The capsules are fed from a hopper 31 or othersource down the feed tube 1 and into one of the holes 32, 33 etc. of thefeeder Wheel 2. The purpose of the feeder wheel is to feed the capsulesto. the jaws one at a time and in a certain time sequence, The feederwheel has a number of holes equallyspaced apart, and it rotates to thenext hole periodically thereby delivering one capsule at a time to thevertical tube 3.4

' which feeds the capsules to the sealing position. A fixed plate 22 islocated between the feeder wheel 2and the upper end of the vertical tube34. This plate 22 is shaped to support the capsules within the wheel 2until the capsules reach a position over the said vertical tube 34. Thecapsules drop from the wheel ,2 past the plate 22 and into the tube 34and are stopped in proper position by the stop plate 7. The jaws 10 arethen actuated to heat and seal the capsule. The stop plate '7 is thenmoved to its other position causing the large aperture 61 to come underthe capsule and the capsule is blown ,or drops out the bottom of'thetube 35. The jaws 10, 10'

are heated to proper temperatures by heating coils 11, 11'. The currentthrough the coils may be controlled by suitable means (not shown).

The purpose of the indexing wheel 2 is to feed the capsules one at atime to the sealing and or marking position leaving the upper portion ofthe tube 34 free of capsules. If the tube 34 were filled with capsules,it would be practically impossible to operate the stop plate 12 withoutshearing the capsules inhalf. I

The capsules fall down the 'tube 34 by gravity but if desired for fasteroperation, they=may also be assisted by a continuous air blast throughthe air tube 6. i

There are three maififuiicti'onsiwhich must be syn- Patented Man 20,.1956

chronized namely, the movements of the indexing wheel 2, the jaws 1010',and the stop plate 7.

These operations are all synchronized by means of cams mounted on commondrive shaft 40 which is driven by means of the motor 19 connectedthereto. The indexing wheel is driven by means of cam 17, cam follower17' which is connected to shaft 41 which is spring loaded against thecam by means of spring 41', the cam 17 as shown in Figure 3 has one highportion for each revolution. The cam shaft 41 has connected to it a link42. comprising a small arm 43 which is pinned through a slot in theshaft 41. The arm 43 is connected to member 45, Figure 4, which turnsthe shaft 45 connected thereto. The shaft 45 is connected to wheel 2through a clutch 46 of the type which is operative in one direction ofrotation, for instance, a conventional sprag type override clutch.Alternatively a pawl and ratchet or other equivalent could be used.

The operation, therefore of the indexing Wheel move ment is as follows:

The cam 17 drives the cam shaft 41 which turns the wheel 2 through thesprag clutch 46. Suitable wheel indexing means are provided for thewheel 2, in that the wheel 2 has a number of indexing grooves 5051 etc.which are adapted to be engaged bythe spring loaded indexing stop sothat the wheel 2 will stop in the proper position to discharge a capsuledown the tube 34.

The left and right hand jaws and 10' are similarly driven by cams 16 and15. Cam 16 actuates cam follower 16 which is connected to cam shaft 52,which is spring loaded by spring 52. The cam shaft 52 is connected tothe jaw positioning shaft 53 by means of the bracket 54. The cam shaftsand positioning shafts 53 slide through holes in the main frame bracket9.

The right hand jaw 10' is similarly actuated by cam 15, cam follower andcam shaft 55 which is spring loaded by spring 55 against the framemember 28. The stop plate 7 is similarly actuated by cam 14 cam follower14 and cam shaft 56 which is spring loaded by spring 56.

The stop plate 7 has a small hole 60 and a large hole 61. The purpose ofthe large hole is to eject the capsules down the tube 35. The small hole60 is necessary when the stop plate is in its other position (notshown), to provide a passage to permit the air from the air blast tube 6to go through the tubes 34 and 35.

The sequence of operations will be described in connection with the camsequence diagram of Figure 5. Referring to Figure 5, the upper two linesof the diagram show that both left and right jaws close together forabout 120 of rotation of the drive shaft. The next line of Figure 5shows that the stop plate 1 is open for approximately 80 of rotation,and that it opens somewhat before the jaws open.

The fourth line of Figure 5 shows that the feeder wheel arrives at theindex position just as the stop plate closes so that a capsule isdelivered from the feeder wheel during the portion marked index" so thatthe capsule will fall down against the closed stop plate 12. Note thatthe jaws are open at this time. The next operation is the closing of thejaws during the closed portion of lines 1 and 2 of Figure 5. Then thestop plate opens and shortly thereafter, the jaws open allowing thecapsule to be ejected down the tube 35.

One of the advantages of the present invention is that the indexingwheel delivers only one capsule at a time so that there is only onecapsule in the tube 34 at any one time. If the tube 34 were filled withcapsules, it would be practically impossible to operate the jaws andstop plate without fouling and damaging the capsules.

If desired the capsules may be sealed without marking, or marked withoutsealing. Different size jaws may be inserted as desired. Various othermodifications will oc cur to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. Capsule treating apparatus comprising a pair of heated jaws adaptedand shaped to crimp together the telescoped portions of said capsule byinstantaneously softening the outer portion and leaving a crimp in theinner portion, capsule feeding means comprising a hopper for capsules,an index wheel adapted to feed said capsules one at a time from saidhopper to said jaws, and means to hold said capsule in position for saidjaws to close on it.

2. Capsule treating apparatus comprising a pair of heated jaws adaptedand shaped to crimp together the telescoped portions of said capsule,capsule feeding means comprising a hopper for capsules, an index wheelconnected to said hopper and adapted to feed said capsules one at a timeto said jaws, and means to hold said capsule in position for said jawsto close on it, and means to drive and synchronize said index wheel andsaid capsule holding means comprising a plurality of cams mounted on acommon drive shaft said cams being connected to drive said index wheeland said holding means through a plu' rality of cams.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said jaws are provided with markingdies adapted to impart suitable markings on said capsules at the sametime they are crimped.

4. Capsule treating apparatus comprising capsule crimping meansincluding a pair of heated jaws, capsule feeding means connected andadapted to feed said capsules one at a time to said jaws and capsuleejector means connected to remove said capsules.

5. Capsule treating means comprising a pair of jaws adapted and shapedto crimp together the telescoped portions of said capsule, capsulefeeding means comprising a hopper for capsules, and index wheelconnected to said hopper and adapted to feed said capsules one at a timeto said jaws, stop plate means to hold said capsule in position for saidjaws to close on it, and means connected to heat said jaws.

6. Treating apparatus for medical capsules having telescoped portionscomprising a pair of heated jaws adapted and shaped to crimp togetherthe telescoped portions of said capsule, capsule feeding meanscomprising a hopper and feed capsules, an index wheel connected to saidhopper and adapted to feed said capsules one at a time to said jaws, anda stop plate to hold said capsule in position for said jaws to close onit, and means to drive and synchronize said index wheel and said capsulestop plate means comprising a plurality of cams mounted on a commondrive shaft said cams being connected to drive said index wheel and saidholding means through a plurality of cams mounted on a comon shaft.

7. Apparatus as in claim 5 wherein said jaws are provided with markingdies adapted to impart suitable markings on said capsules at the sametime they are crimped and sealed.

8. Capsule treating apparatus comprising capsule crimping meansincluding a pair of heated jaws, capsule index wheel feeding meansconnected and adapted to feed said capsules one at a time to said jawsand capsule ejector means connected to remove said capsules.

9. The method of treating a filled soluble two-member capsule havingclosed ends and intermediate telescoped tubular portions, consisting inapplying local heat and pressure around the said telescoped tubularportions for sealing their contacting surfaces to each other.

10. The method of treating a filled soluble two-member capsule havingclosed ends and intermediate telescoped tubular portions, consisting inapplying local heat and pressure around the said telescoped tubularportions for sealing their contacting surfaces to each other and forsimultaneously marking the capsule.

11. The method of treating a filled soluble two-member capsule havingclosed ends and intermediate telescoped tubular portions, consisting inapplying local heat and pressure around the said telescoped tubularportions for crimping and sealing their contacting surfaces to eachother.

12. The method of treating a filled soluble two-member capsule havingclosed ends and intermediate telescoped tubular portions, consisting inapplying local heat and pressure around the said telescoped tubularportions for crimping and sealing their contacting surfaces to eachother, and for simultaneously marking the capsule.

13. Apparatus for treating a filled soluble two-member capsule havingclosed ends and intermediate telescoped tubular portions, comprisingheated jaws shaped and operable to apply local heat and pressure aroundthe said telescoped tubular portions for sealing their contactingsurfaces to each other. i

14. Apparatus for treating a filled soluble two-member capsule havingclosed ends and intermediate telescoped tubular portions, comprisingheated jaws shaped and operable to apply local heat and pressure aroundthe said telescoped tubular portions for sealing their contactingsurfaces to each other and for simultaneously marking the capsule.

15. Apparatus for treating a filled soluble two-member capsule havingclosed ends and intermediate telescoped tubular portions, comprisingheated jaws shaped and operable to apply local heat and pressure aroundthe said telescoped tubular portions for crimping and sealing theircontacting surfaces to each other.

16. Apparatus for treating a filled soluble two-member capsule havingclosed ends and intermediate telescoped tubular portions, comprisingheated jaws shaped and operable to apply local heat and pressure aroundthe said telescoped tubular portions for crimping and sealing theircontacting surfaces to each other, and for simultaneously marking thecapsule.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,861,047 Colton May 31, 1932 2,077,653 Westin Apr. 20, 1937 2,200,971Sonneborn May 14, 1940 2,374,504 Salfisberg Apr. 24, 1945 2,508,197Singer May 16, 1950 2,602,755 Silvernail July 8, 1952 2,627,213 Nye Feb.3, 1953 2,691,474 Olson Oct. 12, 1954 2,696,245 Fischer Dec. 7, 1954

